Airfoils for an aircraft generally comprise a wingbox and a plurality of flaps which are arranged on the wingbox, such as landing flaps. The flaps are extended during take-off and landing of the aircraft in order to increase the aerodynamic lift of the aircraft because, when extended, the flaps increase the effective curvature and area of the airfoil.
The flaps are preferably attached to two supports and are moved to their desired positions by means of a movement mechanism. By way of example, the supports can be mounted on in a respective holder, which is attached to the wingbox, such that they can rotate with respect to a flap rotation axis relative to the wingbox. During extension of the flap, the movement mechanism rotates the support and thus the flap with respect to this rotation axis. The aircraft has an appropriate measurement apparatus for determination of the position of the flap relative to the wingbox.
If a flap is attached to a plurality of supports, then all of the supports are in general moved synchronously with a respective movement mechanism. If, by way of example, one of the movement mechanisms is faulty or has failed entirely, then there is a risk of the flap being tilted or twisted during movement. This can lead to damage to the flap or to the wingbox, or to loss of the flap.
In contrast, the supports for the flaps for the aircraft disclosed in EP 0 922 633 B1 have a flap carriage which the movement mechanism moves on a flap path during retraction and extension of the flap. In order to determine the position of the flap relative to the wingbox, this application (aircraft) has a measurement apparatus with a rotation sensor, which converts the translational movement of the flap carriage to a rotary movement for the rotation sensor.